House votes to bring troops home by April 1

[thedrifter]

House votes to bring troops home by April 1
Iraq progress report gives mixed reviews
By David Espo - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jul 12, 2007 22:08:42 EDT

WASHINGTON — Hours after the Bush administration conceded Thursday that the Iraqi government is achieving only spotty military and political progress, the House voted to withdraw U.S. troops by April 1, 2008.

The House measure, which passed 223-201 in the Democratic-controlled chamber, is unlikely to be matched in the Senate and even if it were, would not survive a presidential veto.

A few hours after Bush’s remarks, Democratic leaders engineered passage of legislation requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops to begin within 120 days, and to be completed by April 1. The measure envisions a limited residual force to train Iraqis, protect U.S. assets and fight al-Qaida and other terrorists.

The vote generally followed party lines: 219 Democrats and four Republicans in favor, and 191 Republicans and 10 Democrats opposed.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said, “The report makes clear that not even the White House can conclude there has been significant progress.”

To Bush and others who seek more time for the administration’s policy to work, she said, “We have already waited too long.”

Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., voted for troop withdrawals for the first time, contending that while she still opposes a swift pullout, “staying in Iraq indefinitely is equally unacceptable.”

But most Republicans sided with Bush. House GOP leader, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, said the bill “undermines the mission he has to make America and Iraq safe. What we have here is not leadership; it’s negligence.”

A 25-page report on the Iraq war produced by the Bush administration at Congress’ insistence and released by the president Thursday said there was satisfactory progress by the Iraqi government toward meeting eight of 18 so-called benchmarks, unsatisfactory progress on eight more and mixed results on the rest. A more complete report is expected in September from Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq.

“I believe we can succeed in Iraq, and I know we must,” Bush said at a White House news conference. And, in anticipation of the House action, he added, “I don’t think Congress ought to be running the war. I think they ought to be funding the troops.”

Bush stressed that the surge in forces begun this winter has only just now reached its full complement in recent weeks.

“The full surge in this respect has only just begun,” the report said.

It warned of “tough fighting” during the summer as U.S. and Iraqi forces “seek to seize the initiative from early gains and shape conditions of longer-term stabilization.”

The president said, “Iraqis have provided the three brigades they promised for operations in and around Baghdad. And the Iraqi government is spending nearly $7.3 billion from its own funds this year to train, equip and modernize its forces.”

But in other areas, he added, they “have much more work to do. For example, they’ve not done enough to prepare for local elections or pass a law to share oil revenues.”

The report was blunt at points and more opaque at others.

While Iraq has begun to show progress in providing services, “citizens nationwide complain about government corruption and the lack of essential services, such as electricity, fuel supply, sewer, water, health and sanitation.”

At another point, it added, “The prerequisites for a successful militia disarmament program are not present.”

In addition to citing a Syrian connection for terrorists, it also said Iran has continued to foster instability in Iraq.

It cited measured progress on the economic front.

“Unemployment has eased slightly and inflation is currently abating,” the report said.

It omitted mention of a June 1 Pentagon report estimating an annual inflation rate at 33 percent and the Iraqi government estimate of joblessness at 17 percent.

In an evident jab at critics of Bush’s war policies, the report also said progress toward political reconciliation was hampered by “increasing concern among Iraqi political leaders that the United States may not have a long term-commitment to Iraq.”

Despite rising pressure from Republicans in Congress for a change in course, Bush was adamant.

“When we start drawing down our forces in Iraq, it will [be] because our military commanders say the conditions on the ground are right, not because pollsters say it’ll be good politics,” he said.

Before Thursday’s House vote, GOP aides said they hoped to suffer only a few party defections, but the administration faced a more volatile situation in the Senate. There, three Republicans have already said they intend to vote for a separate withdrawal measure, and several others have signed on as supporters of a bipartisan bill to implement a series of changes recommended last winter by the Iraqi Study Group.

Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., who announced his intention to seek a change in policy last week, issued a statement that said the administration’s most recent assessment “confirms my worst fears that while the Iraqi government is making some progress on some benchmarks, it’s not moving fast enough to make meaningful or lasting progress.”

Even so, it appears the president’s allies have the support to block a final Senate vote in a showdown expected next week.

If the report changed any minds in Congress, it was not immediately apparent.

“It is time for the president to listen to the American people and do what is necessary to protect this nation. That means admitting his Iraq policy has failed, working with the Democrats and Republicans in Congress on crafting a new way forward in Iraq and refocusing our collective efforts on defeating al-Qaida,” said Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

But Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, said Congress has already decided it will be September before the administration’s strategy can be evaluated properly.

“Certainly the young soldiers and Marines risking their lives today on the streets of Baghdad and Ramadi would agree — and they deserve our patience,” he said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Drawdown in northern Iraq could start in Jan.
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jul 13, 2007 14:33:18 EDT

U.S. forces in northern Iraq could begin drawing down in January if conditions continue to improve there, the top general in the region said Friday.

Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, after describing what he said were significant improvements in violence-stricken Diyala province over the past two months, said he envisions leaving a force roughly half its present size — between five and six combat brigades — in place after a 12- to 18-month drawdown period.

Troops withdrawn from his area of operations would not necessarily be withdrawn from Iraq, a much higher-level decision. But he cautioned that an overall downsizing strategy needs to be conceived and implemented in tandem with any reduction rather than simply withdrawing troops in response to political pressure back home.

Mixon declined to comment on the ongoing debate in Washington over troop withdrawals from all of Iraq.

“You’re not going to draw me into that debate,” he said with a wry grin.

But, he added, “What troubles me about this debate — and it is important, and it needs to be debated, for sure — is it seems to me that we should first decide what we want the end state to be in Iraq,” said Mixon, commander of Multi-National Division-North, who spoke to Pentagon reporters via satellite link. “And how is that end state important to the United States of America, to this region and to the world? And then determine how we can reach that end state, and how much time that will take.”

Making such a determination is important, Mixon said, “because there will be consequences of a rapid withdrawal from Iraq .... But it needs to be well thought-out. It cannot be a strategy based on, ‘Well, we need to leave.’ That’s not a strategy. That’s a withdrawal.”

Public opinion on the war has moved steadily south in recent months, and the House voted Thursday night to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq beginning 120 days after enactment of the measure, with most troops gone by April 1, 2008.

Earlier in the day, President Bush vowed he wouldn’t be pressured into an early withdrawal.

He said that “over time, in a very methodical and well thought-out way — and I’m only speaking for Multi-National Division-North — we could have a reduction of force that could begin in January of 2008, take about 12 to 18 months, where we could have a minimum force here that would continue to work with the Iraqi forces in a training and assistance mode, have the capability to react and assist the Iraqi forces as required, and provide them those capabilities that they don’t have, like attack aviation, Air Force fixed-wing support, and medical support, as they continue to grow and improve.”

Mixon’s comments are believed to be the first such downsizing estimate provided by an American official involved in the war effort.

Any reduction, he said, would depend upon the enemy situation and improvements in the Iraqi security forces. The Iraqi army in his area of operations, which includes all of northern Iraq save for Anbar province and part of northern Baghdad, is fighting well at the company level but suffers from weak logistical support at higher levels, he said. And the police in Diyala province, he said, “have to improve significantly.”

Mixon said he is seeing local Sunni tribes begin to rebel against al-Qaida-affiliated terrorist groups, mirroring to a lesser extent what has taken place in Anbar province, directly to the west of his area of operations. Diyala is a more complex environment, he said, noting that Anbar is dominated by Sunnis while Diyala contains more than 20 tribes and numerous sub-tribes. But U.S. forces have obtained written agreements from “at least” six of the tribes to take part in the peace process and to help recruit volunteers for the Iraqi security forces, he said.

“I certainly understand the very, very important decisions that have to be made over the next couple of months concerning our mission in Iraq,” he said. “But it’s vitally important to the security of the United States of America in this region.

“Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines over here are working very hard to bring security and peace to the people of Iraq,” Mixon said. “Now that the surge has reached full strength, we are seeing definitive progress. But the military option is a part of that. There are political things that have to be accomplished. And most important, we have to continue to win the confidence of the Iraqi people. And we’re working very hard on that every day.”

Ellie